Ear-drum protector or ear-stopper



E. BAUM.

EAR DRUM PROTECTOR 0R EAR STOPPER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 19. 1918. RENEWED NOV. 24 1919.

Patented June 29, 1920;

INVENIOR A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EAR-DRUM PROTECTOR OR NAB-STOPPER.

Application filedseptember 19, 1918, Serial No. 254,740. Renewed November 24, 1 919. -Ser1a1 No. 340,240.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD BAUM, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have in ented a new and useful Ear-DrumProtec'L-or or Ear-Stopper, of which the following is a specification.

It is well-known to specialists in otology and to laymen as well, that soldiers, sailors, gunners, operators of airplanes, riveters in boiler shops and on the hulls of ships and elsewhere in the shipbuilding industry, and in similar occupations, frequently suffer from bursted, ruptured or damaged ear drums'caused by air disturbances emanating ing irritation, inflammation, abscesses of the ear or other disturbances to the ear or Eustachian tube, and to obviate the foregoing, the object of my present invention is to provide a light, pneumatic, pliable and durable ear drum protector or ear stopper permanent and stable in character and adapted for repeated insertions in the auditory canal, and which can be readily inserted into the meatus or external ear canal and readily with-- drawn therefrom, whenever desired or necessary for the purpose of restricting, excluding and preventing the entrance of air, sound or concussional waves or convections into the ear channel, thereby protecting the organs of the inner ear from excessive or injurious vibrations, and indirectly protect; ing the entire nervous system from shock, such as shell shock by severe sound.

To the above ends, my novel ear drum.

protector or ear stopper consists of a hollow, hermetically sealed body, filled with air, whose exterior terminus, which is initially inserted in the ear channel, is slightly thickened and convex to conform to the normal concavity, of the human ear drum, the outer portion of my novel ear drum protector being closed by a diaphragm, flange or closure having an exteriorly pro ecting knob or finger piece adapted to be grasped manu- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 29, 1920.

ally by the thumb angl finger of the user for facilitating the inser ion. and withdrawal of the ear drum protector with respect to the meatus, said outer flange having rojecting inwardly therefrom, a pendulum-like sound absorbing member, having an enlarged terminus for the dual purpose of facilitating the insertion of the device into the ear canal, and for the further urpose of absorbing any excessive air vi rations which may impinge on the outer flange or closure. My nvention further consists in the novel provision of a series of longitudinally extending grooves or channels for the dual purpose of ventilating and drainage, which extend longitudinally of the device and which have the additional function of preventing damage being done to the ear drum by the compression of air against the ear drum during the insertion of the device, since any, air contained within the earcanal between the ear drum and the forward por-' tion of my ear drum protector has ready egress through said external longitudinal channels during the insertion of the device in position.

I further provide my novel ear drum protector with a thickened outer wall and a somewhat thinner inner Wall or neck at about the point where the outer flange or closure 'oins the body, which in conjunction wit the longitudinal channels aforesaid permits the ear drum protector to readily and automatically slightly expand and by my provision of the outer knob, the device can be readily inserted and withdrawn from the meatus.

To the above ends, my invention consists of a novel pneumatic ear stopper having a plurality of barriers to absorb the excessive air vibrations and prevent them from reaching or injuriously affecting the ear drum, the device being provided with means for readily inserting and withdrawing it from the ear canal, the resultant construction being of one piece of material, containing an internal air cushion, so that there is no liability of damage to the ear canal or the ear drum during the insertion or withdrawal.

' and adjust itself to the meatus of the user, I

various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of these instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of; an ear drum protector or ear stopper embodying my invention. 1

Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal, sectional view on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 represents an end view of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 represents a sectional view of a human ear, showing the manner of using my device.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings 1 designates my novel construction of ear drum protector or ear stopper, the same comprising a body portion 2 having its outer end or terminal as 3 convex, so as to conform generally to the concavity of a normal human ear drum, it being noted that the portion 3 of the body is slightly thicker than the upper portion or neck 4, whereby a slight resiliency is permitted at about this point to facilitate the insertion and withdrawal of the device and to enable one standard size of protector to conform to ear canals of different sizes.

5 designates an outer diaphragm, flange or closure, the mode of construction being such that it hermetically seals the internal air chamber 6 of the ear drum protector, said closure 5 having a knob or projection 7 serving as a handle attached thereto to facilitate the insertion and withdrawal of the device from the ear canal. It will be noted that the outer periphery of the closure 5 is slightly larger than the greatest diameter of the body 2, so as to slightly limit the extent of inward movement of the protector, as will be understood from Fig. 4.

8 designates an internally projecting pendulum-like sound absorbing body or pendant having its end or terminal 9 slightly enlarged and terminating a short distance from the inner Wall of the outer terminal 3, as will be understood from Fig. 2, the function of said parts 8 and 9 being of a dual character, since they not only facilitate the ready insertion of the device into the ear canal, but also, in addition, after the ear drum protector is in position, enable any my novel device interposed before the human eardrum when the device is in position, the

drum within the meatus when the device is pushedinwardly into the position seen in Figs, and, in addition, the channels 10 per niit of the necessary, ventilation and drainage and also permit of the device to be' slightly compressed .during insertion, and after insertion permit a slight expansion, sothat a single standard size ear drum protector of my invention will accommodate human ear canals of varying sizes.

The mannerof'using my novel ear drum protector or ear stopper will be apparent to those skilled in the art, it being only necessary to grasp the knob orhandle 7 and insert'the device inthe ear canal, as seen in Fig. 4;, it being apparent therefrom that the internal pressure upon the handle 7 causes the diaphragm 5' to flex inwardly, pushing the sound. absorbing post 8 inwardly until its terminal 9 contacts with the juxtaposed inner Wall 3 of the hickened body 2. The portion 3 thereupon ,becomes slightly elongated assuming more of a conical contour, which facilitates its insertion into the ear canal, and the slight momentary backward air pressure dilates the neck 4, near the junction of the body and diaphragm, thus slightly elongating the entire device and thus facilitating its insertion as seen in Fig. 4. The device having been placed in position will, by reason of the internal air cushion and the provision of they channels It), automatically expand slightly and snugly and painlessly assume the con tourof the contiguous Wall of the meatus. lVhen it is desired to Withdraw the ear stopper, this can readily be effected by a slight pull on the handle l, which flexes the diaphragm 5 outwardly and slightly elongates the body 2, thereby enabling the same to be readily Withdrawn.

It will be apparent to those skilledin'the art, that my novel device is pneumatic and resilient, and being provided with the ventilating and drainage grooves or channels 10, all of which permit a' slight compression 'during lnsertlon, no in ury to the ear drum 12 or auditory canal 13 can occur, during the insertion and Withdrawal of the devlce,

which is readily effected by the provision of I the handle or knob 7.

The presence of the pneumatic hermeti- (-ally sealed cavity 6 creates an even air cushion throughout the exterior contour of the device, and after the latter has been seated in position, as seen in Fig. 4, the internal pneumatic pressure obviously expends its force upon the most resilient or thinnest portion of the device, as at the neck 4, and causes thedevice to accommodate itself to waves, which two barriers in conjunctionwith the thickened terminal 3 will effectively prevent shell shock and injury to the ear drum or inner ear. The longitudinal grooves or channels 10 on their interior assume the appearance of corrugations, whose constriction is limited by the presence of the internal sound absorbing pendant 8.

In the manufacture of my device, I preferably employ a high grade of rubber or similar resilient material, which may have a very small proportion of sulfur or whiting commingled therewith, whereby the device will possess the requisite toughness and durability, and, in addition, will not injure the meatus or ear canal during its insertion and withdrawal therefrom.

It will, however,.be evident that other ingredients may be employed without departing from the spirit of my invention and I do not desire to be limited to any particular composition of matter in the manufacture of my novel device.

I am the first in the art to produce an.

ear drum protector having the three sound absorbing barriers, as the diaphragm 5, the pendant 8, and the thickened wall 3, either alone or in conjunction with the grooves 10, and my claims to these features are to be interpreted with the scope accorded to inventions of this character.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction of an ear drum protector or ear stopper, which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description, and while I have, in the present instance, shown and described a preferred embodiment thereof which will give in practice satis factory and reliable results, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages. Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

r 1. An ear drum protector, consisting of a hollow body having a chamber filled with air, said body having at one end thereof a rounded outer terminal, a diaphragm secured to the opposite end thereof and form mg a closure for said air chamber, and an internal pendant sound absorbing member secured to said diaphragm and projectinginto said air chamber.

2. An ear drum protector, consisting of a hollow body filled with air, said body having at one end thereof a rounded outer erminal, a diaphragm secured tothe opposite end thereof, and having an exteriorly projecting knob thereon, and an internal pendant sound absorbing member also r0 jecting' from said diaphragm and contained in the air chamber.

3. An'ear vdrum protector, consisting of a hollow body filled with air, said body having at one, end thereof a convex outer terminal, a diaphragm secured to the opposite end thereof, and an internal pendant sound absorbing member contained in the air chamber, said body having a reduced neck at'the point of its attachment to said diaphragm.

4. An ear drum protector, consisting of a hollow body filled with air, said body having at one end thereof a convex outer terminal, a diaphragm secured to the opposite end thereof, and an internal pendant sound absorbing member, said body having a reduced neck at the point of its attachment to said diaphragm, and the, external periphery of said body at said neck being provided with longitudinally extending ventilation and drainage grooves.

5. A pneumatic ear drum protector, consisting of a hollow body filled with air, said body having a thickened external convex wall, a diaphragm secured to the opposite portion thereof, and an internal pendant sound absorbing member, whereby three sound arresting and absorbing barriers are produced.-

6. A pneumatic ear drum protector, consisting of a hollow body filled with air, said body having a thickened external convex wall, a diaphragm secured to the opposite portion of said body provided with a handle extending exteriorly therefrom, and an internal pendant sound absorbing member located in the air chamber and projecting from said diaphragm, whereby three sound arresting and absorbing barriers are produced.

7 A pneumatic ear drum protector, consisting of a hollow body filled with air, said body having a thickened external convex wall, a diaphragm secured to the opposite portion thereof, so as to hermetically seal the air chamber, and an internal pendant sound absorbing member having an enlarged end depending from said diaphragm and terminating a short distance from the juxtaposed inner wall of said convex wall, whereby three sound absorbing barriers are produced, said body being of reduced thickness at the point of its attachment to said diaphragm and provided with longitudinally extending ventilation and drainage grooves, said diaphragm being of greater diameter than the greatest diameter of said body.

8. An ear drum protector, consisting of a hollow body filled with air, said body having a thickened external convex wall, a diaphragm secured to the opposite portion thereof, so as to hermetically seal the air chamber, and an internal pendant sound absorbing member depending from said diaphragm and terminating a short distance from the juxtaposed inner Wall of said con-- vex end, whereby three sound arresting barriers are produced.

9. An ear drum rotector, consisting of a resilient hollow b0 y inclosing an air chamber, one wall of said body having a handle projecting therefrom, and an internal pendant sound absorbing member projecting from said Wall into said air chamber in sub;- stantial alinement with said handle.

10. An ear drum protector, consisting of a resilient hollow body inclosing an air cham ber, one Wall of said body having a handle projecting therefrom, and an internal sound. absorbing member rejecting from said wall into said air cham er in substantial alinement with said handle, said body having longitudinally extending external ventilation and drainage grooves therein.

. EDWARD BAUM.

Witnesses:

E. HAYWARD FAIRBANKS, C. D. MCVAY. 

